Have any of you readers, especially clergy, musicians, or grooms and brides, had an experience with a wedding during the liturgical Christmas season? By this I mean between December 25th and Epiphany, when the church’s Christmas decorations were still in full poinsettia.

My parish has three this week: last night, today, and tomorrow. I get to play at today’s, which I’m looking forward to. Nice couple, active parish family, a good singer, and an openness on the part of the couple to include some fun seasonal music.

One potential hang-up is the clash of the Wedding Mass with certain feasts. How do you handle what some see as a “minor” feast day (compared to Christmas) superceding the celebration of a wedding Mass? You all do realize that liturgically, weddings are not prohibited on January 1, nor is the celebration of a wedding at Mass, only the use of the Roman Missal prayers and readings for a wedding Mass? In other words, one can get married at a holy day Mass.

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Todd lives in the Pacific Northwest, serving a Catholic parish as a lay minister.

2 Responses to Christmas Season Weddings

Not exactly the same thing, but last year All Saints Day fell on a Saturday, and I had to play a wedding that day. Since it wasn’t a Holy Day of Obligation that year, it was allowed; I’m not sure whether it’s universal or diocesan law, but I know we’re not allowed weddings on a Holy Day.

Anyway, because it was a solemnity that would otherwise be a day of obligation, the couple had to use the readings of the day. They were allowed to use one reading from the wedding options, but the rest had to be proper. Thankfully, the All Saints Gospel is the Beatitudes, so it wasn’t a huge thematic clash.

Other than that, it was a matter of inserting the Nuptial Blessing into the Mass for the day, and it was fine.

We were married after the epiphany, but still in the Xmas season — on the (Satur)day before the Baptism of the Lord. I verified with the church that they’d still be decorated for the season, which saved us the trouble of beautifying the altar. (And we lucked out — the parish decorators went with all white poinsettias that year. Very bridal.) Our recessional hymn was “Joy to the World”!